Partnerships

GOVERNOR MUTULA WELCOMES CHINESE DELEGATION TO BOOST GREEN ENERGY AND INVESTMENT IN MAKUENI.

August 22, 2024

Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. on Thursday hosted a high-level delegation from China, visiting to learn about the county’s initiatives in promoting green energy and explore potential areas for collaboration and investment.

The delegation engaged in in-depth discussions with Governor Mutula and his team, focusing on innovative solutions for climate change, advancing social equity, enhancing financial literacy, and promoting economic empowerment, particularly for the youth and women.

The delegation toured the solarization project at the Makueni County Referral Hospital (MCRH), a flagship initiative in the county’s renewable energy efforts.

Governor Mutula urged the Chinese investors to consider Makueni as a strategic location for investment, with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector, which holds significant potential for growth.

The Governor was accompanied by Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili and several County Executive Committee Members, including Eng. Sebastian Kyoni, Dr. Sonia Nzilani, Damaris Kavoi, Eng. John Kieti, Joyce Mutua and Dr. Paul Musila.

DR. VICTORIA KYALO, CHIEF OFFICER FOR AGRICULTURE, PARTICIPATED IN A TRAINING SESSION FOR FARMER SERVICE CENTRE (FSC).

August 14th, 2024.

Dr. Victoria Kyalo, Chief Officer for Agriculture, participated in a training session for Farmer Service Centre (FSC) providers at Kusyombunguo. Organized by the Makueni County Government and the World Food Program (WFP).

This event aims to enhance collaboration among agricultural stakeholders, including farmers, agro-input dealers, and marketers, focusing on value chains like mangoes, citrus, poultry, horticulture, aquaculture, and apiculture.

Dr. Kyalo emphasized the county’s dedication to supporting these stakeholders, ensuring that they can effectively assist farmers in improving production and market linkages. The session saw the first cohort of 25 FSC providers, with a second cohort of 28 set to join later in the week.

Later, Dr. Kyalo, alongside Chief Officer Livestock and Fisheries Japheth Kiminza, opened a report writing retreat for the National Agriculture Value Chain Development Program (NAVCDP) at Shushan Hotel Makindu.

Dr. Kyalo was accompanied by Director of Agriculture Mary Muteti among other officials.

MAKUENI SIGNS 8 MOUS WITH PARTNERS TO PROMOTE FOOD PRODUCTION

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on Monday signed Memorandums of Understanding with 8 development partners in the agricultural sector aimed at boosting food production through different value chains development.

The partnerships, Governor Mutula said, aim to among others:

Advancement of agro-based industries and promote food exports through agricultural enteprise development;

2. Support youth- led and youth-driven social economic innovation and entrepreneural activities;

3. Train farmer groups on various organic farming practices, commercial seed production and marketing of drought tolerant crops such as greengrams and pigeon peas;

4.Provide appropriate extension support to farmers and support prevention and management of pests and diseases;

5. Mobilize farmers and train them on Simsim farming as well as offer infrastructure support throughout the county;

6. Provide linkages between farmers and service providers.

The Partners to this cooperation are: Biovision Africa Trust, Alternatives Africa Limited, Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International, Participatory Ecological Land Use Management, SOLIDARIDAD East and Central Africa Expertise Centre, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association, Cereal Growers Association, and Mama Fresh Company Limited.

MAKUENI COUNTY PARTNERS WITH STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY TO CAPACITY BUILD MSMES

The Government of Makueni County envisions to transform the livelihoods of her citizens by increasing their household incomes. The Department of Trade, Marketing, Industry, Culture and Tourism through the Directorate of Trade, Marketing and Industry, has partnered with Kenya Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to support in the growth and scalability of businesses in Kibwezi West and East Sub counties.

Key reasons why Government of Makueni County through Directorate of Trade, Marketing and Industry is supporting MSMEs :

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises are key enablers of economic growth and development in Makueni county.
MSMEs represent a core pillar of the economy and play a significant role in innovation, wealth, and employment creation.
So there is need to create an entrepreneurship culture where traders are constantly reminded of good business practices in order to increase their sales and profitability.
The directorate has been supporting MSMEs to access to better markets through programmes such as exhibitions, development of ICT portal, Soko Makueni, formation of member associations, value addition, and development of infrastructure among others.

The MSMEs were trained on financial planning, marketing needs, financing needs, book keeping and on use of technology in addition to:

Empowering the MSMEs toward self-reliance
Provide market outlets, product development, training and market information to the producers.
Enable participants to understand simple book keeping methods in relation to their business size.
Ensure the participants understand the advantages of keeping track of business transactions.
To instill skill and confidence in managing business finances.
Sensitizing on the use of technology in business operations
Spotting a business opportunity
Market penetration.
It was agreed that a better enabling environment be provided for revitalizing the MSMEs to improve economic growth through addressing inefficiencies in the County licensing regime, formalizing unlicensed MSMEs, and strengthening institutional management capacities
It was agreed that advisory, training and consultancy activities to promote business, leadership, and governance capacities sessions be conducted in all sub-counties.

MAKUENI SEEKS PARTNERSHIP WITH ANGLICAN CHURCH AGRO-ENTERPRISE FOR FARMER TRAINING.

June 14, 2024

The County Steering Committee for the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP), led by Agriculture Executive Joyce Mutua, toured the Anglican Church of Kenya Resort Salama agro-enterprise on Friday to explore potential collaboration opportunities.

The enterprise specializes in apiculture (beekeeping), poultry, horticulture, and pig farming, serving as the primary foodstuff supplier for the Resort.

A key area identified for collaboration is the training of farmers on best agricultural practices to enhance profitability among small-scale farmers in the county.

“The Anglican Church of Kenya Resort Salama agro-enterprise offers a unique model of diversified farming that can greatly benefit our local farmers,” Mutua stated.

By partnering with them, the county aims to provide farmers with the necessary skills and knowledge to enhance their productivity and profitability.

UK PLEDGES MILLIONS FOR GREEN INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN KENYAN COUNTIES

The United Kingdom has pledged £6.6 million in financial support to initiate the development of 50 green investment projects across 10 counties in Kenya. This funding initiative, announced at an event in Nairobi, is guided by the County Green Finance Assessment report, launched on Thursday.

The report evaluates the 10 counties’ capacity, including Makueni, to access green finance, enabling them to channel investments into vital sectors such as water, healthcare, energy, and infrastructure. Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili emphasized that this initiative would yield economic benefits while addressing the specific needs of local communities.

Produced by Financial Sector Deepening Kenya, an independent trust supported by the UK government, the assessment analyzed each county based on financial performance, credit risk, availability of green investment opportunities, and their ability to manage green finance.

FSD Kenya collaborates on this project with the Capital Markets Authority, the ADA Consortium, the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and the National Treasury and Economic Planning.

GOVERNOR MUTULA WOOS INVESTORS TO MAKUENI WITH FAVORABLE LAND LEASE OFFERS.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr has urged investors to consider Makueni County as a prime location for industrial ventures, saying his government is ready to provide land.

Mutula emphasized that such ventures would not only create employment opportunities for local residents but also bolster the national economy.

The governor spoke on Wednesday when he issued a land lease title deed to ENI Kenya Managing Director Enrico Tavolini, marking a tangible commitment by the administration to facilitate the flourishing of industries within the county.

Eni Kenya, the country’s first agri-hub that produces vegetable oil and related bio-products, has already established a factory in Makueni County.

The Kshs. 2 billion plant has over 200 workers, mostly young people from the county.

ENI Kenya has pledged to contribute to community welfare by establishing a maternity facility at Kambi Mawe and providing neo-natal equipment to the Makueni Referral Hospital in Wote as part of its corporate social responsibility.

MAKUENI AND BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION EXPLORE PARTNERSHIP FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY IN MAKUENI COUNTY.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on Tuesday hosted a British High Commission delegation led by Daniel Wilcox, the Economic Counsellor at the High Commission, who paid him a courtesy call in Makueni

The team discussed modalities of joint resource mobilization to promote innovative renewable energy technologies and the transition from grid-powered to solar-powered systems within Makueni County.

One of the identified areas of partnership is setting up a state-of-the-art County Energy Center in Kisingo Technical Training Institute to serve the county and country at large.

The UK PACT team, county officials for Energy & Environment visited Makueni County Referral Hospital to inspect ongoing installation of solar panels that will enable 100% reliance on solar power. This project which is jointly funded by the UK in collaboration with the county government will generate 200 kilowatts and is expected to save power costs for the hospital by Sh 7 million annually.

COUNTY EXECUTIVE FOR WATER JOHN KIETI INKS STRATEGIC WATER PARTNERSHIP WITH MBOONI WATER MART

County Executive Committee Member for Water and Sanitation Eng. John Kieti on Tuesday signed a collaborative agreement with Mbooni Water Mart, a water development partner supported by the Embassy of Netherlands for implementation of water projects in Mbooni.

The agreement aims to develop bulk water supply to increase coverage and boost the last mile connectivity among the residents of Mbooni.

MAKUENI TEAMS UP WITH PARTNERS TO IMPROVE NUTRITION

The Department of Health Services in Makueni County collaborated with stakeholders in a workshop on Monday for the Development and Delivery of Biofortified Crops at Scale (DDBIO) project.

The initiative, jointly convened by the International Potato Center (CIP), World Food Programme (WFP), and Makueni’s health and agriculture dockets, aims to address maternal and child nutrition outcomes.

Implemented in Makueni, Tana River, and Garissa, the program focuses on improving nutrition through various interventions, including the distribution of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) vines to agro-pastoral households, aiming to alleviate maternal and child undernutrition.

Dr. Mwatha, the Ag. Director for Health Services, emphasized the importance of a multi-faceted approach to nutrition and the necessary interventions during the workshop.

Attendees included Chalmers Mulwa, a Social Scientist, Dorcas Amunga, a Nutritionist, Leonard Kirui, a Senior Manager, Lucy Mwaura, a Food Scientist, and others from the International Potato Center.